The Inside Scoop on Gaming

For those that have been hiding under a rock for the past 3 or so years, Dragonball Z is perhaps the most popular anime (that's japanese animation) series in the USA aside from possibly Pokemon. It the story of Son Goku, a man from a distant planet sent here as a baby to conquer the planet who over time becomes its defender. From the begining of Dragonball to the end of the Buu Saga of Dragonball Z; we see Goku the child, Goku the teen, Goku the father, and Goku the Super Saiyan.

Alright, that's not exactly right but close enough.

What makes DBZ unique is immense overpowered martial arts combat. Smashing mountains, creating immense craters, causing earthquakes, and even blowing up a planet is within the range of the various heroes and villains of the series. So, you can understand the complications of trying to make an RPG out the series. And somehow, RTG has succeeded.

System: DBZ uses "Instant Fuzion" which essentially boils the Fuzion system down to four stats and six skills (Fighting, Evasion, Weapon, Power, Mind, and Body). Aside from the Stat + Skill + 3d6 dice formula, that's where the similarity to the previous Fuzion games end. For one, DBZ has no stat limit. As an example, Goku has a movement stat of 110 and this, I might point out, is only the Saiyan Saga. I imagine big boys like Frieza or Super Saiyan (SS) Goku might have stats up around 500-1000 or more in later sourcebooks. Also, in a rather neat fashion, each character has a power rating similar to how the Saiyan's would use their scouters to find out the power rating for their opponents. The Power Rating also ties into special powers and energy blasts. By expending so and so much amount of energy, the character does so and so amount of damage. Another neat thing is the more energy you pump into a blast, the more difficult is to control. So pumping all your energy into one big-ass blast is not such a bright idea.

The Good: The game does extremely well at catching the fast paced brawling of DBZ. In fact, the game system could be modified for use with other more low-key fighting anime such as Ranma 1\2, Tenchi Muyo, Project A-ko, and so on.

The Bad: The organization is kinda whack. The book starts with a broad description of the Saiyan Saga (the first DBZ season) then works into the character creation, powers, fighting tactics, and GM chapter. I occassionally found myself trying to find something and got a run-around. But this might just be me. The only other thing is that the game seems a bit too "lethal" for DBZ. Sure, some of the fights in the Saiyan Saga were short (Raditz for instance whooped Goku the first time they met with one blow), but a character who has a higher power level or stronger stats could easily whoop the ass off the lower power character. But, again, this is my opinion.

Sourcebooks?: According to the book, there will be sourcebooks for each of the major Sagas: The Frieza Saga, The Android Saga, The Cell Game Saga, and the Buu Saga plus a sourcebook on all the movies (of which there is around 13). The Frieza Sourcebook, according to the last page, is supposed to be out this winter. I'll surmise that this will be January to March of next year. It'll be interesting the stats on SS Goku.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Dragonball Z: The Anime Adventure Game
Author: Mike Pondsmith Category: game Company/Publisher: R. Talsorian Games Line: Dragonball Z Cost: $20 Page count: 144 ISBN: 1-891933-00-0 SKU: AM9001 Capsule Review by Robert Pool on 11/07/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Science_fiction Anime	For those that have been hiding under a rock for the past 3 or so years, Dragonball Z is perhaps the most popular anime (that's japanese animation) series in the USA aside from possibly Pokemon. It the story of Son Goku, a man from a distant planet sent here as a baby to conquer the planet who over time becomes its defender. From the begining of Dragonball to the end of the Buu Saga of Dragonball Z; we see Goku the child, Goku the teen, Goku the father, and Goku the Super Saiyan. Alright, that's not exactly right but close enough. What makes DBZ unique is immense overpowered martial arts combat. Smashing mountains, creating immense craters, causing earthquakes, and even blowing up a planet is within the range of the various heroes and villains of the series. So, you can understand the complications of trying to make an RPG out the series. And somehow, RTG has succeeded. System: DBZ uses "Instant Fuzion" which essentially boils the Fuzion system down to four stats and six skills (Fighting, Evasion, Weapon, Power, Mind, and Body). Aside from the Stat + Skill + 3d6 dice formula, that's where the similarity to the previous Fuzion games end. For one, DBZ has no stat limit. As an example, Goku has a movement stat of 110 and this, I might point out, is only the Saiyan Saga. I imagine big boys like Frieza or Super Saiyan (SS) Goku might have stats up around 500-1000 or more in later sourcebooks. Also, in a rather neat fashion, each character has a power rating similar to how the Saiyan's would use their scouters to find out the power rating for their opponents. The Power Rating also ties into special powers and energy blasts. By expending so and so much amount of energy, the character does so and so amount of damage. Another neat thing is the more energy you pump into a blast, the more difficult is to control. So pumping all your energy into one big-ass blast is not such a bright idea. The Good: The game does extremely well at catching the fast paced brawling of DBZ. In fact, the game system could be modified for use with other more low-key fighting anime such as Ranma 1\2, Tenchi Muyo, Project A-ko, and so on. The Bad: The organization is kinda whack. The book starts with a broad description of the Saiyan Saga (the first DBZ season) then works into the character creation, powers, fighting tactics, and GM chapter. I occassionally found myself trying to find something and got a run-around. But this might just be me. The only other thing is that the game seems a bit too "lethal" for DBZ. Sure, some of the fights in the Saiyan Saga were short (Raditz for instance whooped Goku the first time they met with one blow), but a character who has a higher power level or stronger stats could easily whoop the ass off the lower power character. But, again, this is my opinion. Sourcebooks?: According to the book, there will be sourcebooks for each of the major Sagas: The Frieza Saga, The Android Saga, The Cell Game Saga, and the Buu Saga plus a sourcebook on all the movies (of which there is around 13). The Frieza Sourcebook, according to the last page, is supposed to be out this winter. I'll surmise that this will be January to March of next year. It'll be interesting the stats on SS Goku. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Dragonball Z: The Anime Adventure Game